Thread: Office of Naval Intelligence

Hi all, this is my first post, so if this is in the wrong area or anything similar, I apologize. I am sincerely seeking advice so please answer thoughtfully.

I am 17 years old, a junior in high school. I have excellent grades, all A's (got 2 B's though, both in Spanish, ugh) and take almost all AP classes. As implied in the title, I am interested in working at the Office of Naval Intelligence. I am deeply interested in military matters, though I do not want to join the military itself (though I proudly salute all of you that serve our country). I am looking for a civilian career.

I keep up to date on all the latest news to come out of DoD, from weapon systems, modernization, foreign policy, to acquisition. I could talk all day about our military, be it history or modern day issues. I would like a career dealing
with these things. I want to be involved in our nations' defense, briefing/advising policy makers and helping to make sure the US stays supreme. I feel I have the interests, and the grades to do this. I have done reaserch and feel that an intelligence analyst, at ONI, for example, fits the description. I would like to have something similar to Jack Ryan's job from Hunt for Red October, but he was from the CIA haha.

However, I do not know where to go from here. I am planning on going to community college for 2 years and then transferring out to a real school for my degree (feedback on this plan?) I don't know what to major in. Can anyone help? I would appreciate someone who once had a similar position answer, but anyone with info would be great . I don't know what college would be best or what to major in. Can somone advise me in this path, and beyond? Are there any other jobs that might fit me better? If you need more info from me to advise completely, just ask

The problem with trying to get into Naval intel as a civilian is that you're going to be competing against former sailors who have real-world intel experience as analysts, cryptologists, and linguists, who already have security clearances, who know how the system works, and who may even know (and in many cases, have actually worked for) the higher-ups within ONI. This includes both enlisted personnel and officers, as well as people who may have done one or two tours and gotten out or are recently retired and looking to put a career's worth of experience to work. Most of the people you'll be competing against will also have a veteran's preference.

I'm not saying that it can't be done, but it'll probably be an uphill battle. You'd probably need an advanced degree, minimum, plus an uncommon specialty - like direct experience working in an area of interest and/or a fluency in a difficult language (things you can get by being in the military, ironically). If this is really what you want to do, I would urge you to rethink your position on military service.

Originally Posted by krellum

If this is really what you want to do, I would urge you to rethink your position on military service.

Ditto! I'm a former NCIS agent who has worked with some former/current ONI folks, if ONI is where you want to be it is unlikely to get there (as a civilian) without prior intel experience, preferably on active duty.

Let's not forget, even Jack Ryan started out as a Marine before his helicopter accident.

In all seriousness, ONI is one of those hyper competitive areas. Like k said, it is going to be difficult to get in there without some practical experience. Desire and grades are awesome and keep up the good work, but they will only take you so far in a field like military intelligence. Good luck.

I will briefly concur with everyone else. In a different life, I was heavily involved in the types of things you're talking about. Virtually everyone there, both employees of the civilian intelligence agencies and the military agencies, had started in uniform. Almost all of us had advanced degrees, and many had functioning capability in at least one other language. It certainly can be done via the path you are describing. But I bet if I took 100 of us who were in the intelligence game and put us in a room, 98 would have started their career via military service.

If you have a medical condition preventing you from active service, my advice would be to get an advanced degree in a level IV foreign language and apply to the CIA directly.

Intel is similar to Federal law enforcement in that the hardest part is often getting your foot in the door, after which it becomes (somewhat) easier to both move around and figure out exactly what it is you want to do. Military experience is great, but only if you actually want to be in the military. If not, you need to focus on other ways to make yourself competitive and get onboard somewhere in an intel position. Language, computer skills, and various other technical areas are skills that are sought after by many intel agencies and other organizations that have analysts. I'd worry less at this point in your life about deciding that you want to work for ONI or CIA or any other single agency, as many people find that their career goals change once they find out what agencies actually do or learn about other opportunities they didn't know existed. This is especially true in the intel arena where a lot of things are not visible from the outside.

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